Week 6

Village: Cock-a-doodle-MOO!

Research shows that babies learn through repetition. Each time they are exposed to new objects or experiences, new neural connections are made in their brains. It is through repetition that these connections are strengthened and learning occurs.

At home this week know you are strengthening your baby’s brain and learning every time you roll that ball one more time, or read Cock-a-doodle-MOO! book for the third time, or sing “Hop Up, My Baby” for the fifth time! Pick a couple of your baby’s favorite Village class activities and sprinkle them throughout your week and watch the learning happen.

Hayride:

Our Time: Away We Go!

Has it ever been so much fun to fall down?

Even in “All Fall Down,” we all knew when to fall, just by hearing the music. So often we rely on words to tell us what to do, but musical cues, or letting the melody “tell” us what to do can be just as clear. By listening and letting our bodies respond, we know when to fall down, how long to wait, and when to get up.

Listening to musical cues is an important skill if your child ever belongs to a musical ensemble, and being a good listener is essential for whatever he chooses in life.

Imagine That!: Toys I Make, Trips I Take

This week, listening took on a whole new meaning.

This time with a new song, “Oh, Watch the Stars,” we used a concept called analytical listening. So many things are happening in this activity. Your preschooler has to understand and follow directions, make decisions while he’s listening, and wait to share his thoughts until the song is over. He listens to new lyrics, explains to himself what the song is about as well as what he thinks about who is singing.

I am so impressed with the level of this challenge for your preschooler. It is a joy to see and hear him discover these great abilities!

Young Child 2

As the children participate in various activities focused on the song “Bell Horses,” they are developing their musical memory. They soon will be extremely familiar with this song’s melodic content, rhythmic content, lyrics, and visual content as applied to the glockenspiel.

It is interesting to note that while developing musical memory, children also are enhancing general memory skills and abilities. Studies indicate that music facilitates verbal memory and that memory is usually increased when music is involved. “Music and learning are powerful allies,” (Arts with the Brain in Mind, by Eric Jensen) and your child’s participation in Kindermusik each week allows him to reap the benefits of this alliance! See you next week.

Young Child 4:

We also had a good time (and enjoyed lots of laughs!) while doing a “dog dance.” This dancing game involved partner movements while singing the song “Bow Wow Wow.” It is interesting to note that the children have advanced considerably in the last two years in their ability to follow step by step dance instructions. A few of the benefits of dancing games as done in Kindermusik are promotion of self-esteem, teamwork, sequencing of movements, understanding directions, memory, and integrating singing with movement.